Silenced in Thought and Depression
by PsychicPunch
Summary: Something has gotten Ash upset. He wont speak to anyone, not even Pikachu. What has happened? (Rated T due to only one swear word.) ONE-SHOT!


**One shot! You could think of it as pearlshipping, depends on how you see it. Rated T due to only one swear word. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Ash hid his face. His baseball cap shielded his eyes. His brown eyes were gazing at his hands that were folded onto his lap. In his gaze he could see the ends of his black, messy hair, his blue jeans, his red and grey high-tops, and his dark blue vest with the yellow chevron. And don't forget the pink boots that showed in the very corner of his gaze. Sitting next to him was a nervous blunette, the one and only Dawn. He didn't want to be seen right now. It sucked at the moment that he had friends that cared too much.

Anxiety was getting to both of them. _ He's not going to talk._ Dawn though silently to herself. She has been trying to get him to speak, but nothing would come out. No one but Ash himself knew why he wouldn't speak. He has been out of character ever since running off for only a few minutes at Hearthome City. We could only go back to see what has bothered him enough to get the hero to stop talking.

* * *

"Ash! Come back!" The echo of a girl's voice could be heard along with a lot of panting. People stopped only for a second to turn and see what was going on on the streets. The streets of Hearthome City to be exact. And these streets were set up nicely for the Hearthome festival. Pink, purple, blue, red, yellow, and green balloons were tied onto lamp posts as they tried to float away, being held down by a ribbon. Sparkly streamers were all over the place as confetti seemed to be poured all over. It wasn't the decors that caught the eyes of wandering people, but all of the stands. Many, many shops were set up. Happy sales people were shouting out to the youngster to buy their "special" candy, or "the best in the world" treats. People shopped for momentous to remember this day for forever.

One store ,The Great Rock, was handing out different types of Pokemon stones to the customers, for free! Of course one per customer. And Ash wanted one before all the stones run out. Of course he wouldn't get the Thunder Stone, in respect of Pikachu. But that didn't mean that Ash wasn't going to get one.

When the street speakers announced only 5 min. before the sale would end, our known hero sped off, leaving Dawn and Brock to Chase after him.

"Wait up!" Dawn panted. She was wearing her usual out fit, a white tank top, black vest, pink scarf, black stockings, and pink boots. Her hair was fastened with yellow clippings. On the top of Dawn's head sat her yellow beanie with a pink trademark pokeball. Slightly behind Dawn was Brock. He was wearing khaki jeans, an green t-shirt, and an orange vest. Brock lost as in the crowd as he tried to look for him with his squinty eyes.

They both stopped trying to catch their breaths. Dawn and Brock placed their hands on their knees as they breathed as if they had just ran a marathon. "He.. sure.. can run," Dawn stated in between pants. Brock recovered faster than Dawn as he returned to normal breathing. Brock straightened up. "Where did he go?" Brock asked, scratching his brown, pointy hair. Dawn eventually recovered also. "He probably went to that one store. Lets get a map a snoop it out." Both of them nodded and went to the closest stand.

Ash was still running. He hadn't noticed that his friends weren't following him. It became more and more hard for Ash to slip by people. Crowds began to pack the streets. Ash slowed down to a fast walk. He murmured things like "excuse me" or "pardon" as he slipped between people. "Watch where you're going, kid" people yelled. _A little rude,_ Ash thought, _I did say excuse me._

Ash pushed his way out of the crowd. He made his way to the end. Ash almost stumbled out of the crowd. He met an area where it was less crowded. Few people were walking down the streets. Ash was about to continue his way ahead until he spotted a certain group. It was a mother, a four-year old girl, a younger boy, and a baby. The children resembled Ash. They all had black hair. The baby and little boy both had brown eyes. The kids also had slightly tanned skin that seemed natural. It was until the father came.

Ash instantly recognized him. The dad looked exactly like an older version of Ash. It was his father. Ash remembered stealing a picture of him from his mom. Ash even infacts still has it with him. He could imagine the first time he asked about his dad. She said that he left to continue his journey. Appearently his dad wasn't immature and not ready to settle down. But she also said that one day he would come back. Now Ash sees that he has moved on.

The older male made eye contact with his son. It took him a few secondes to see that it was his boy. It wasn't often you saw people with raven black hair. What gave it away was the "z"s on Ash's cheeks. Ash knew he recognized him. He saw the sparks in this father's eyes. all the man was look away from his lost son. He just turned to his current family. Ash almost broke seeing the way that man smiled at his children before scooping his now son up into his arms.

It hurt Ash that he knew he would never experience that father-son relationship. Ash wouldn't be able to have any of that. "Pika," Ash's best friend said from his shoulder. Ash for a moment had forgotten about the electric mouse. Ash didn't respond as he felt abandoned all over again. No answer came from the boy's mouth.

Ash hung his head leaving the idea of getting that free stone. Pikachu felt confused. The poor pokemon didn't recognize Ash's father.

Depression was dancing around the trainer. Ash just walked forward. He didn't mutter apologies as he walked through the crowd. The glum kid stood out like a sore thumb. He didn't swive through the people, they were just pushed to the side.

Brock and Dawn were walking towards the big crowd after finding a map. "I hope Ash didn't get lost in there," Brock said as they approached the herd of people. Both were ready to squirm through. But before they could make their way, the boy came into sight. The cordinator was confused as she instantly noticed the sadness coming off of her bestfriend.

"Ash?" Dawn asked as she approached him. He looked up to Dawn. His eyes weren't shaded anymore. Dawn now saw the horrible feelings he was experiencing in his eyes. The girl quietly gasped to herself when she saw this. Ash didn't cry, but he sure looked like he was about to.

"What happened?" Dawn asked. "Did you miss your chance to get a stone?" Dawn asked before he could even answer her first question. Ash light shook his head and walked past them. Dawn examined the trainer. He was slouching compared to his usual proud posture.

Brock was about to follow Ash as Dawn called out,"I'll meet you guys at the pokemon center. I have.. err.. things to do. Later!" Brock had just given her a confused look before catching up to Ash.

The walk from the festival to the center was too awkward for Brock. He had asked numerous times what was wrong with Ash, but he never got and answer. Ash just shaded his face as he was in a horrible thought trance. He lived for his whole life with out his dad. You may be thinking that the man Ash saw might not have been his father, but you must understand that it defiantly was. It now got to him that his dad never came back. He just left Ash and his mom behind, acting like life was okay with out a dad/husband to them. It wasn't. Now appearantly the player moved on.

_Jackass, _Ash thought. Ash never went towards the "no-no" words. He never said or thought about them. He was now driven to the point of anger and greif.

Brock's voice could be heard. _Don't speak, _Ash kept telling himself. The boy was too scared he would say something that he would regret. Ash wasn't too familiar with these feelings. He couldn't risk not being able to control them. Ash remained silent. He didn't want Brock to be around. Brock. Where was Dawn? Ash wouldn't look up to check if she was behind him. That would risk making eyue contact. It would be out of character for her, though. Dawn is Ash's best friend. She usually would be the one jumping up to make sure he was a-okay. Strange...

Dawn was seeing something strange. As she was heading back to the pokemon center she saw a man. He looked almost exactly like how Ash would when he gets older. The man seemed very happy, even though something seemed to be troubling him at the same time. He smiled at his family. A older woman, who Dawn assumed was his wife, was sitting on a bench laughing as she cradeled a baby. The man sat next to his lover on the bench. There were two kids on his knees. One was a girl and the other was a younger boy. The children seemed to resemble their father more than their mother.

But the man. He reminded Dawn strongly of Ash. _What happened to him? _Dawn thought to herself. Before Ash was lost in the crowd he was energetic, when he came back it was as if something sucked all the life out of him.

Dawn realized she had stopped and stared at the family when the man and little girl stared back. Dawn shook her head and walked on. She held tightly onto a cool object as Dawn cut through the crowd.

Dawn was slightly releaved for a moment when she got into the Pokemon center. It had the fresh smell of flowers. She looked ahead and saw the nurse joy at the front desk. Dawn walked across the pale pink tiled floor. "Hello Nurse Joy," Dawn said as she walked past the desk and into the lobby for the guests. She could see pokemon that had been treated skipping about. That gave Dawn the idea to take out Piplup.

Dawn took out the pokeball that held the penguin inside of it. "Come on out!" Dawn shouted as a red beam flashed. The blue creature formed as it stood proudly with its flippers on its hips."Piplup!"

Piplup soon spotted a familiar electric mouse and ran off to play. Dawn smmiled to herself before frowning. _There is Pikachu... now where is Ash...?_

Brock looked up from his spot on the love seat. "Come on out!" He saw Dawn release Piplup. Brock was relieved when she finally showed up and curious of where she had gone to. But there were worse things. Ash wouldn't talk. He had just walked off, leaving Pikachu. Brock couldn't find Ash, nor could Pikachu. If anyone could it would be Dawn.

"Dawn!" Brock called out as he stood up. The girl turned her head to the pokemon breeder. She brightened up as hope flashed in her eyes. "Brock! Where's Ash?" The two approached each other. "Where were you?" Brock asked, gesturing towards the girl. Dawn shook her head. She didn't want to tell Brock about anything, even the man who looked a lot like Ash. "Just tell me where Ash went. I think I got something to make him feel better."

Brock explained to Dawn on how Ash wouldn't even make eye contact with him. How Ash kind of ignored him. Brock didn't know it was for his own good though. "So I don't know where Ash went or why he is acting so strange." Dawn nodded. "I'll go find him. I think I have something that may cheer him up!" Dawn left Brock as she went to search about. Dawn was starting to have her doubts that what she had thought caused Ash to get upset wasn't really the thing. The store had tons of stones still left over, so that signalled Dawn's main idea of why he would be upset. Ash even left Pikachu. That meant he really wanted to be alone. If Ash wanted alone time, which would be very out of character for him, then he would have just said so. Ash won't speak to anyone, but why?

_He isn't in here, _Dawn thought. She checked all over the Pokemon center. She even got to that point where lifting up a pillow and underneath it would be Ash seemed reasonable. Dawn walked out of the Pokemon through the back. Since the center was at the edge of town it had a wide backyard with the woods bordering it. Dawn crossed a pokemon battle ground in the middle of the grassy land.

_If Ash wanted to be alone, he would go somewhere it would be hard for other people to see him. _Dawn nodded to herself as she entered the woods. She enjoyed the trees surrounding her. The grass was fresh and bright. There were small bushes that were filled with life. No dead leaves remained on the floor. The forrest is always a nice place in the pokemon world.

Dawn remained quiet as she lightly scanned the area. It wouldn't be very bright to call out his name. It's not like he would call her name back if he hadn't been talking. Also, if Ash heard her he might run off farther away.

Dawn was about to turn around and give up. _What is the chance that I will find Ash in the woods? 1/1000? _Dawn sighed defeatedly. She spun on her heels, ready to head off. Some where off to the side was sitting Ash. He was sitting on a tree branch with his lehs dangling off. _Why hadn't i thought to look in the tree? _Dawn questioned herself, feeling dumb. She sighed as she approached the tree. Dawn didn't know if Ash saw her or not, but at the same time she didn't care.

The boy felt the tree rustle. _Probably just a pokemon, _Ash though, almost bitterly. _I bet he has a family. A father._ Ash was then surprised to see a pair of legs dangle next to his. It almost caused him to look up at the person, but he kept his gaze down.

A voice rung in his ears. "Hi Ash..." The little lady next to him wasn't sure of what she should say.

Ash hid his face. His baseball cap shielded his eyes. His brown eyes were gazing at his hands that were folded onto his lap. In his gaze he could see the ends of his black, messy hair, his blue jeans, his red and grey high-tops, and his dark blue vest with the yellow chevron. And don't forget the pink boots that showed in the very corner of his gaze. Sitting next to him was a nervous blunette, the one and only Dawn. He didn't want to be seen right now. It sucked at the moment that he had friends that cared too much.

Anxiety was getting to both of them. _ He's not going to talk._ Dawn though silently to herself. She has been trying to get him to speak, but nothing would come out. No one but Ash himself knew why he wouldn't speak.

Dawn sighed as she was about to jump down from the branch. _He won't even look at me. _Ashe felt bad for Dawn. She is his best friend, aside from Pikachu. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that. Ash noticed Dawn about to jump down. He quickly grabbed the girls wrist. A soft gasp escaped Dawn's lips.

"I'm sorry," Ash said. He then looked up into the girl's blue eyes. Dawn was slightly shocked at Ash's sudden action. "Ash?" Dawn shakily said. She was scared of Ash, just really concerned. There were red rims around his eyes, but no tears. He was His brown orbs looked dull. His skin was more pale now. Dawn scooted closer to Ash.

"What happened?" Dawn asked. She wasn't sure if Ash would go back to being quiet or speak up. But sure enough, Ash slowly spoke. "I... saw... him." Dawn gave Ash a puzzled look. _Who is he talking about?_ Dawn wondered to herself before asking. "Who?" Ash let out a long sigh. "My dad." Dawn's eyes widened with shock. "That's not all," Ash included," he was with another family. He was being happy with them. My dad left me and my mom. I always wondered if he knew I was still alive. Or even thought about what happened to me. He even saw me. We made eye contact but... he just ignored me. I could tell he recognized me. The way his eyes slightly widened at me. Hes a stupid jerk. I'm not sad. I'm angry. I don't like this feeling. It's so negative. I mean I have disliked people before, like Paul. I never hated anyone. Now I think I hate him."

Dawn was even more surprised at all of Ash's words. Dawn was almost sure that the man she saw was the father of Ash. But she didn't want to bring that up. "You know," Dawn slowly began," my dad left me and my mom. I remember when my mom talked to me about it she had said he didn't want commitment. There is a likely chance he is with another family, happy and not caring at all about me or my mom. Or he is doing the same he did to my mother to other girls one after another." Ash sighed heavily. He hadn't thought about how their family history was alike before.

Dawn decided to ask another question as silence settled over them. "Why wouldn't you talk to anyone before?" Ash shook his head lightly, staring off ahead. "I was afraid I would say something stupid. I was REALLY angry earlier. But I've calmed down now. No need to worry. Right?" Dawn smiled and nodded.

Something then popped into her mind. "I almost forgot!" The girl exclaimed. she pulled something out. Ash's eyes settled down onto a smooth rock. He instatnly recognized it. The surface was a light blue. "A dawn stone..." Dawn smiled at he rock then up at Ash. She held her hand out. "It's for you."

Ash smiled. It was then Dawn realized that this is the first time he smiled ever since he had seen his dad. The girl blushed as Ash's fingers grazed across her palm. His touch was warm but it still sent shivers up her arms and down her spine. Her fingers twitched as Ash took the rock away.

"Thank you," Ash said with a smile. "Your w-welcome," Dawn said with a smile. Ash seemed not to notice the girl studder and slightly blush. Dawn didn't know why this had just happened to her. She didn't want to be too worried about it right now.

"Please Ash," Dawn said, suddenly a little more serious," don't act like that again. If something really troubles you then come to me. We can talk about it."

"O-okay," Ash studdered. This time it was his turn to blush. Dawn smiled as Ash smiled back. His smile was even brighter. Ash was defiently out of his depression and silence.


End file.
